There was a moment in late September when mortgage rates, after a monthslong decline, appeared poised to drop low enough to bring would-be buyers and sellers off the sidelines.

But that window has closed, at least for now.

The average rate on the 30-year mortgage, the most popular home loan in the United States, rose to 6.93 percent this week, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday, the highest since early July.

Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds, which has jumped in response to a string of strong economic data, persistent inflation and a potential rise in debt and deficits stemming from policies on tax and spending that have been proposed by the incoming Trump administration.

“The economy has held up stronger, and inflation has come down less than people had hoped,” said Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a professor of real estate and finance at Columbia University.

This week, the 10-year Treasury yield extended its monthslong rise, fueled by a range of factors including data showing the U.S. services sector expanded in December and President-elect Donald J. Trump’s reasserting his plans for tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, which many economists said would be inflationary. On Wednesday, the 10-yield briefly rose above 4.7 percent, hitting its highest level since April.

Inflation has recently proved stubborn, a sign that the Federal Reserve has not yet won its battle against rapid price increases. Last year, the Fed began to cut interest rates from the decades-long highs they reached as officials tried to rein in stubborn inflation. The central bank cut rates three times last year, but it signaled only two reductions this year as inflation lingers.